


i've loved you three summers (but i want them all)

by CalliaRittel



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Baking, Christmas Fluff, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Really just 14000 words of wish-fulfillment, Swearing, Team Dynamics, This was supposed to be 5k max, self-indulgent nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28374855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalliaRittel/pseuds/CalliaRittel
Summary: Suga realizes he must be some kind of masochist, because he lifts his hand to Daichi’s head and brushes his fingers across the expanse of red on his temple. Daichi’s stock-still, and for a moment they’re just stuck, sitting on the sugar-saturated floor. There’s no team, no Nationals, no responsibility here, they’re just two boys staring at each other from opposite sides of a waveringly platonic friendship.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 26
Kudos: 139





	i've loved you three summers (but i want them all)

**Author's Note:**

> This was never going to be finished in time for Christmas since I started writing it on Thursday, but just pretend, okay?
> 
> CW: mentions of anxiety, but no real panic attacks  
> mentions of underage drinking, but no actual drinking  
> mentions of drug use, but no actual drug use
> 
> These boys are all talk.

The annual Christmas party for the Karasuno Boys Volleyball Club was typically a fairly uninspired affair. The old faculty advisor would let the team stay late in one of the classrooms and stayed for a few minutes looking somewhere between bored and horrified before escaping back to their office and getting drunk on sake until it was time to leave.

So, it’s met with some surprise when Takeda invites the entire team (plus Coach Ukai) to his home on the last Saturday before Christmas.

‘It’s the least I can do,’ he’d said with a nervous laugh. ‘You’ve all worked so hard this year. I think we could all use a break after what we’ve accomplished.’

Suga lets his eyes slide over to Daichi, whose attention is unfailingly rapt on their advisor. All three third-years are well-acquainted with the sort of sad energy associated with the Christmas party. Usually, the team’s disbanded by now. Usually, they don’t even make it to the playoffs of the qualifiers.

Daichi has always been a steady presence through disappointments like that. He’s always been so quick to reassure the team.

_Don’t let it get to you, guys, we’ll get the next one!_

_As long as we give it our all, we can hold our heads high._

It works—to some degree, at least. Last year, after they’d lost to... Suga can’t even remember who had beaten them. After they’d lost to Whomstever-The-Fuck, he and Daichi had found little first-year-Noya tucked away in an empty hallway, huddled on the floor crying frustrated tears behind a vending machine. Suga had hung back, unsure exactly how best to help, but Daichi had just walked right up to the smaller boy—like it was _nothing—_ and sat down next to him, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

_I know, Noya._

Suga watched—still frozen—as Noya burst into tears again and curled into Daichi’s side. Daichi wrapped his arms more firmly around the libero and let him cling to the fabric of his jersey.

And Suga had realized that maybe he was a little bit in love with Daichi.

It’s been over a year since the _Hallway Development_. He’s closer than ever to Daichi, which turns out to be both a blessing and a curse, because as much as he adores the man, their captain is utterly convinced of his own heterosexuality.

So Suga watches as Michimiya falls over herself in front of Daichi (he gets it, honestly), and he pulls Asahi away whenever she finds the three of them together, because Daichi deserves to be happy, even if it isn’t with Suga, and he staunchly ignores the sympathetic looks Asahi throws his way, because it’s _fine_.

He’s fine.

Daichi’s eyes flick onto him, and he realizes belatedly that he’s staring, which should be at least a little embarrassing, but instead Daichi throws a grin his way before craning his neck back and fixing the first and second-years with a _dad-look_.

‘This is very generous of Takeda-sensei, so if I catch wind of _anyone_ taking advantage of his hospitality, I will _personally_ be overseeing a hundred serves at—let’s say—five in the morning come Sunday.’ He shoots a glare at Tanaka and Noya. ‘Got it?’

The team choruses, ‘yes, captain,’ and just like that, Scary Daichi is gone, replaced with an easy smile that stabs directly through Suga’s heart and glues him to the floor.

‘Good.’ Takeda hands Daichi a stack of papers and he begins passing them around. ‘This is a list of what everyone needs to bring. It also has directions to Takeda-sensei’s house and-’

‘ _Cups?!_ ’ Hinata jumps to his feet. ‘I can bring something better! What about—oh, an ice sculpture!’

Tsukishima snickers behind his hand. ‘Ooh, too bad,’ he teases, ‘ _I_ got ice.’ Hinata glares at him and Suga laughs.

‘I’ll trade with you, Hinata,’ he says. ‘I’m bringing chairs.’

A small, calloused hand grabs his and shakes it vigorously. ‘Deal! Thanks, Suga-san!’

‘Dumbass,’ says Kageyama with a roll of his eyes, ‘how are you gonna carry that many chairs on your bike?’

Suga catches Asahi’s eye and grins. Daichi may not approve of the first-years’ bickering, but Suga knows Asahi finds it just as funny as he does.

Hinata sticks his tongue out. ‘I don’t have to use my bike, idiot. My mom has a minivan.’

It’s too much. Suga bursts out laughing, Asahi not far behind. He leans into Daichi’s shoulder—which, he notes, is shaking with its own suppressed amusement—and covers his face with his hands, wheezing into his fingers.

‘S—sorry,’ Suga gasps. ‘I’m—I’m okay, just give me— _jesus—_ just give me a minute.’ He digs the pads of his fingertips into his closed eyes and hastily wipes away the moisture that’s collected on his lashes. He clears his throat and fights to keep his face under control. He lets out a long shaky breath and refuses to look toward Asahi, who’s still trying to choke back his laughter.

‘Sorry, guys,’ Suga apologizes, still wiping his eyes. He lifts his weight off of Daichi and straightens his spine. ‘I guess I’m bringing cups then.’

There’s a chuckle to his right, and he whips his head back to stare at Daichi, who coughs and covers his mouth with a fist.

The team works out a few more details for the night of the party, like carpooling for those who live too far to walk, before Takeda dismisses them with a smile and a reminder to bring a change of clothes—because they ‘ _won’t be allowed back inside if they get too snowy’_ —and turns toward Coach Ukai, who bends his head down to look at something in Takeda’s notes.

A broad hand hovers in front of Suga’s face, and he blinks up to see Daichi leaning over him with a grin. He beams back and slips his hand into Daichi’s, letting him pull him to his feet. The rest of the team seems to have mostly dissolved into pairs, Hinata and Kageyama arguing over—oh, who give a shit at this point—Noya and Tanaka leaning into each other conspiratorially, sending occasional glances at Asahi and Kiyoko. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, just—gone. They’re gone.

‘Daichi.’

‘Suga.’

‘Hinata’s mom has a minivan, Daichi.’

The corners of Daichi’s mouth lift before he can fight them back down. ‘Yes. I—er—I heard,’ he replies, _just_ stumbling enough over his words that Suga giggles again.

‘I love our first-years,’ Suga says with a sigh. He rests an elbow on Daichi’s shoulder, his hand falling down and brushing his bicep. ‘What are you supposed to bring? I’ve got a pretty good lead on cups in bulk,’ he says slyly.

Daichi lets a smile seep onto his face. ‘Tempting. I’m afraid I got stuck with cookies.’ His smile broadens, and Suga’s stomach folds like a balloon animal. ‘Want to come over and help?’

Yes. _Yes._

Suga grins, and this time there’s nothing but joy and anticipation in it. ‘I’ll clear my schedule.’

* * *

If given the choice between their houses, Suga will pick the Sawamura household every time. It’s happy and messy and chaotic, with Daichi’s four younger siblings and two exhausted but loving parents. It’s a sharp contrast to Suga’s house, which is all vacuum lines in the carpet and moody younger brother and a too-often absent mother or father or both.

‘Kou-chan!’ Suga’s greeted the instant he steps into the house by six-year-old Minako, who latches onto his leg with sticky, glittery hands.

Fuck, he loves this house.

Suga laughs and shrugs out of his coat before bending down to scoop her into his arms. ‘A joyous day to you, Princess Mina-chan. Taking a day off from your royal duties today?’

Minako nods seriously. ‘Even princesses need breaks sometimes. Plus Kaasan said I wasn’t allowed to wear my dress again until she washed it since I fell in the mud yesterday.’

Suga barks out another laugh and spins them around, much to Minako’s delight. ‘Okaasan is very responsible,’ he agrees. ‘Hey, Your Highness, why don’t you see if Kaito wants to play for a bit? Dai-chan and I have to do some boring adult stuff right now.’ There’s a strangled sound from behind him and he grins before squatting down and letting Minako slip out of his arms, watching her fondly as she runs upstairs to find one of her other brothers.

‘So,’ Daichi says as Suga straightens back up, ‘ _Dai-chan_ , eh? I’m starting to regret ever bringing you home.’

Suga kicks his shoes off and lines them up beside Daichi’s. ‘Just now?’ he teases, ‘you’re _just now_ starting to regret that?’

‘Yeah, so anyway, I think I’ll be fine baking on my own,’ Daichi deadpans, spinning him back around by his shoulders and pushing him toward the door. Suga ducks out of his grip and slides past him into the house, and his arms are absolutely _not_ burning where Daichi’s fingertips were digging into his skin.

‘A likely story, Sawamura. I’d rather not have to write a will before I eat whatever it is you’ve managed to come up with.’ Daichi moves to grab him again and it’s only reflex that lets him skip back into the kitchen.

Suga opens a cupboard and pulls out a mixing bowl. ‘So, what are we thinking? Shortbread? Snickerdoodles?’

Daichi shrugs. ‘We sort of only have the ingredients for chocolate chip.’

‘Oh, so old-fashioned.’

‘You mispronounced “classic.”’

‘Wait right here, I have to get a chair so you can rest those old bones.’

‘You’re literally older than me.’

‘Ah, youth today.’

‘Is it too late to volunteer for cup duty?’

Suga recoils in horror. ‘You can snatch cup duty out of my cold, dead hands.’ He digs around in a drawer and produces a set of measuring cups and spoons. ‘In the meantime, I need sugar, white _and_ brown, butter, and eggs.’

Daichi rolls his eyes in convincing exasperation, betrayed only by the tiniest quirk of his lips. ‘So I’m just the gofer. Seems like you’re snatching my cookie role out from under me, _Kou-chan_.’ Suga stiffens and snaps his head up to stare—dry-mouthed—at Daichi, who has turned the other way to fish all the cookie shit out of the cupboard.

They’re flirting. _Daichi_ is flirting.

This is fine. This is totally fine.

Suga snaps his jaw shut and swallows, trying to work the moisture back into his mouth. ‘I wouldn’t dare. My role is to keep you from poisoning the team until _after_ Nationals.’ Daichi’s at his side again, dropping everything on the counter next to him. Suga pulls the sugar toward him and measures out the correct amount before he dumps it into the bowl. ‘You can be my stirrer.’

Daichi chuckles. ‘I always knew you only wanted me for my body,’ he says—just s _ays_ , like it’s _no big deal—_ and Suga drops the bag of sugar.

‘Shit,’ he hisses as he fumbles to catch it, but Daichi’s reaching out at the same time and they meet in the middle, cracking their heads together painfully. The sugar explodes out across the tile in a tidal wave and they both groan.

‘Sorry—’

‘Sorry, Daichi—’

Daichi reaches out and pushes Suga’s hair back to check his forehead. ‘Are you okay?’

‘That was my fault, I should’ve—’ Suga’s brain catches up and he looks up to find Daichi’s dark gaze fixed on him. He swallows. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. You?’

Suga realizes he must be some kind of masochist, because he lifts his hand to Daichi’s head and brushes his fingers across the expanse of red on his temple. Daichi’s stock-still, and for a moment they’re just stuck, sitting on the sugar-saturated floor. There’s no team, no Nationals, no responsibility here, they’re just two boys staring at each other from opposite sides of a waveringly platonic friendship.

‘Never better,’ Daichi breathes, and Suga’s pretty sure he could spend the rest of his life like this, sitting on the sticky floor of the messy kitchen in the house of the boy he loves.

‘ _Daiiiiiichi!_ ’ A shrill voice shatters the moment, and Daichi drops his hand as he glances toward the voice. ‘Minako keeps breaking my Legos!’

‘Kaito, Lego is supposed to be taken apart,’ Daichi says reasonably.

The ten-year-old scowls. ‘Not these ones, Daichi! She dropped the Boba Fett helmet on the ground.’ He grinds the heel of his hands into his eyes. ‘That took me _weeks_ to finish.’

A bubble of hysteria rises in Suga’s throat and he swallows it before it bursts out of him. ‘We’ll help you put it back together, Kai-chan,’ he promises, and Daichi clears his throat. ‘Uh, maybe another day, though. Daichi has grown-up _responsibilities_ today.’

Kaito wrinkles his nose. ‘Sucks to be Daichi,’ he agrees and wanders away, clearly eager to avoid being roped into cleaning the mess on the floor.

Daichi snatches up the broom leaning against the wall and corrals as much of the sugar as he can before pressing the dustpan into Suga’s hands and nudging the pile into it.

‘Okay,’ Suga says after dumping everything into the trash, ‘that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.’

Daichi snorts. ‘We’re lucky it wasn’t the flour. That’s way dustier.’

‘Oh?’ Suga drops a half-stick of butter into the bowl. ‘I didn’t realize you were so familiar with ingredient consistency, Daichi. We’ll make a house-husband of you yet.’

Daichi rolls his eyes and swipes an egg out of the carton before cracking it against the side of the bowl and releasing the yolk into the mixture with one hand in one smooth motion.

Suga chokes. ‘You—since when can—have you always been able to do that?’

Daichi laughs and tosses the shell into the trash. ‘I never said I was helpless at baking,’ he says. ‘I just asked if you wanted to help and you drew your own conclusions.’

‘What am I even here for, Daichi? I could be out buying cups right now!’

Daichi shrugs. ‘You’re here for moral support, obviously.’

Suga smiles.

‘Obviously.’

* * *

The cookies are a success. The cups are purchased. Asahi texts the third-year group chat.

_Jesus (8:33 pm): do you guys want to walk to takeda’s together on saturday?_

_Jesus (8:33 pm): it’s ok if you can’t_

_Jesus (8:33 pm): i can find my way there by myself_

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:34 pm): lol chill negativitysan ill pick you up at 7_

_Jesus (8:35 pm): are you sure?_

_Thigh-chi (8:36 pm): Thanks for inviting us, Asahi! I was just about to text you to see if you wouldn’t mind walking with us._

_Thigh-chi (8:36 pm): Damn it, Suga, stop changing my name on here._

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:36 pm): lolololol_

_Jesus (8:37 pm): so how did baking go?_

_Sawamura Daichi (8:38 pm): Suga dumped half a bag of sugar on the floor and gave me a concussion._

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:38 pm): i spilled a TINY amount of sugar_

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:38 pm): and YOU clocked ME_

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:39 pm): i couldve been buying cups_

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:39 pm): daichi your name makes you look like a narc_

_Dad-chi (8:40 pm): ANYWAY, we’d love to go with you, Asahi._

_Dad-chi (8:40 pm): Damn it, Suga._

* * *

Saturday rolls around and finds Suga rounding the corner to Asahi’s house with a backpack of spare clothes and a shopping bag full of cups. As he approaches, the door opens and a very-bundled-up Asahi slips out, waving goodbye to someone inside.

‘Hey,’ Suga greets and hoists his bag when he sees an identical one in Asahi’s gloved hand. ‘We match.’

‘Yeah, I had to bring a fruit tray.’ They begin the eight-minute walk to Daichi’s place and Asahi throws him a knowing look. ‘So, how was baking, aside from the concussion?’

Suga breaks immediately. ‘I almost kissed him, Asahi,’ he blurts, then covers his eyes with his arm and groans. ‘I mean, _christ_ , we were sitting on the floor after I spilled all the shit everywhere and smashed our heads together, and he was touching my face and there was this moment where he seemed _extremely_ un-straight. God, if Kaito hadn’t interrupted us...’

Asahi chuckles. ‘Then you’d be going to a party with your new boyfriend instead of just your teammates?’

Suga gasps, scandalized, and shoves him, sending them both skidding on the icy sidewalk. ‘Oh my god, Azumane, don’t even try that shit with me. I watched you walk into a net post after Noya complimented your receive last week.’

The ace blushes. ‘That’s—that was just—hey, we’re talking about _you_ , and how obviously in love with you Daichi is.’

Suga’s steps falter and his grin fades. ‘Don’t.’ He cranes his neck back and stares at the sky, already dark from the solstice. ‘Don’t give me hope like that.’

‘Suga, I—’

‘It’s okay.’ Suga interrupts Asahi’s inevitable apology and lets his eyes slide to the side, taking in the ace’s cold-tinged nose and worried expression. He offers a sad smile in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. ‘I just. It took a long time for me to come to terms with the way things are, you know? And it’s stupid of me to be so hung up on my best friend who obviously doesn’t see me the same way, but that’s the way it is.’

Asahi throws him a _look_ , like he’s definitely not done talking about this, but instead he offers his arm to Suga, who tucks his hand into his elbow and leans his head on his shoulder as they walk.

‘I’m just going to say one thing, and then I’ll leave it alone for the rest of the night,’ Asahi says as they turn onto Daichi’s street. ‘I’m just as close with Daichi as you are, and he’s never _once_ touched my face or looked at me the way he looks at you.’

Suga hesitates. Daichi’s a fairly tactile person. He’ll ruffle Hinata’s hair, or pat Tsukishima on the back, or let the team tackle him after a game. He’ll fold an underclassman in a hug if they’re upset. And still, even after placing all that under consideration, there’s still no explanation for what happened in the kitchen.

He’s still considering this new piece of evidence—this new account that has the potential to smash to pieces all the compartmentalization he’s carefully built up over the past eighteen months—when the front door of Daichi’s house opens and he darts out quickly pulling it shut behind him and letting out a put-upon groan.

‘You staging a jail-break over there, Daichi?’ Suga calls and Daichi whips around, shushing him loudly.

‘ _Jesus_ , Suga. We _just_ convinced Minako it was bedtime. If she hears your voice, we’re done for.’ As if on cue, the door cracks open and a deep brown eye glares through it.

‘You gotta be shittin’ me. You’ve got _some_ timing, Sugawara.’ Daichi’s other sister—fifteen-year-old Kana—snaps across the threshold of the door.

Daichi flicks her on the forehead. ‘Language,’ he says sternly, and the door widens just enough for her to snake a hand through and flip him off.

‘Whatever _Dad,_ ’ she grumbles, ‘go have fun. Leave me to do all the hard work, sure! Mom and Dad are at a party, but don’t worry, because little _Kana_ doesn’t have anywhere to be.’ She catches Asahi’s eye and nods. ‘Keep it real, Azumane.’

Asahi looks ready to faint.

‘I seem to recall covering for you last month when you sneaked out in the middle of the night to go get drunk behind your school,’ Daichi muses. ‘Sure would be a shame if Mom and Dad found out about _that_ , wouldn’t it?’

Kana narrows her eyes and slips out of the house, shutting the door behind her. ‘You blackmailing me, Sawamura?’

‘Of course not,’ Daichi reassures her. ‘This is just a friendly reminder of the favour you _still_ owe me.’ He laughs and ruffles her hair. ‘See ya!’

Suga waves to Kana as Daichi jogs toward the two of them and is met with an impressive middle finger. ‘So Kana sure is fifteen now, huh?’ he says with a laugh, falling into step with Daichi’s quick pace.

Daichi shakes his head. ‘I swear she’ll be the death of me,’ he mutters. ‘Was I like that when we were fifteen?’

Asahi and Suga burst out laughing, and no amount of stern glares deter them.

‘Oh my god, Daichi, _no!_ ’ Suga cackles, nearly dropping his grocery bag.

‘I think you were born with a lecture on your tongue and a fanny pack strapped to your waist,’ Asahi agrees, brushing a tear out of his eye, and Suga dissolves into fresh giggles beside Daichi, leaning into him for support.

‘What’s wrong with fanny packs?’ Daichi snaps, but brings his arm up to steady Suga nonetheless, sending a spike of electricity through his heart. ‘Clearly you guys have never gone hiking. You know what? Next time you’re looking for a band-aid when we’re at a tournament, you’ll be _wishing_ you were practical enough to wear one.’

The three of them argue back and forth the rest of the way to Takeda’s house, and Daichi’s arm doesn’t leave Suga’s waist, and his resolve is cracking, because it’s starting to seem possible that Asahi was right.

* * *

It’s nearly seven-thirty by the time they’re pushing open the gate in front of Takeda’s house. Daichi reaches up and presses the bell, and there’s a brief scuffle inside as someone rushes to the door, which flies open enthusiastically.

‘Hey guys! Can I interest you in some cheese?’ Noya thrusts a platter dotted with cubes of cheese up, his eyes darting between the three of them eagerly. They linger, Suga notes with some satisfaction, on Asahi’s face.

‘Sure,’ Suga chirps, and he plucks a cube of cheddar off the platter by its toothpick, a tiny pink sword. ‘Cool toothpicks.’

Noya beams. ‘Thanks! My sister found them in a novelty shop last time she went to Tokyo to visit her girlfriend.’

Suga nods and pops the cheese in his mouth. ‘It tastes better when it’s on a sword.’ He tucks the empty toothpick behind Daichi’s ear and takes Asahi’s grocery bag from him. ‘We’ll go find Takeda and put this stuff out. You two have fun,’ he adds with a wink, deliberately ignoring the panicked look Asahi sends his way.

Suga kicks off his boots and shrugs out of his coat before wandering through the house trying to find the kitchen, Daichi trailing behind him. They pass through a living room filled with first-years, Kageyama and Hinata engrossed in some highly competitive card game on the floor. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are curled up on the couch, watching them with exasperated expressions.

‘This is never going to end, is it?’

‘They just keep trying to get the highest card, but I don’t think they’re even playing War.’

‘Yamaguchi, why didn’t you spike the punch? If I’m going to be subjected to this shit, I might as well be tanked.’

Daichi clears his throat and they all flinch. ‘I’m sure I didn’t hear anything illicit come out of your mouth just now, Tsukishima,’ he warns.

Tsukishima shrugs, not intimidated in the slightest. ‘You try watching these idiots for an hour, Sawamura-san.’

Suga shoves a laugh down and drags Daichi away before he can put on his scary face. ‘No captaining today, Daichi,’ he insists. ‘This is supposed to be relaxing, remember?’

They find Takeda in the kitchen, bent over a tray of appetizers. ‘Ah, Ukai-kun, you’re back. Can you grab the—oh! Sawamura, Sugawara, welcome!’ He wipes his hands on a tea towel and rushes forward to take their bags. ‘I hope my directions weren’t too difficult to decipher.’

Daichi smiles and shakes his head. ‘Of course not. Thank you again for your hospitality, Takeda-sensei.’

‘Oh, it’s my pleasure,’ Takeda says, waving him off. ‘There’s a fire going outside if you’re interested. I think Michimiya and the girls have set up shop out there.’

Suga’s heart turns to stone and drops into his stomach as he glances outside and sees their managers chatting with the entire girls’ team around a little fire pit. He forces a knowing smile over his disappointment and nudges Daichi. ‘Go ahead, captain,’ he offers. ‘I’ve got some cups to set up.’ Daichi hesitates, clearly reluctant to leave Suga alone, but the setter pushes him back toward the coats and boots with a smile. ‘I mean it, Daichi. Go on.’

Finally, Daichi shrugs and disappears back around the corner, and Suga deflates.

‘I—I know I’m just your teacher, but if you ever need a sympathetic ear, I’m always here, Sugawara-kun.’

_Fuuuuuck, Takeda’s still here._

Suga rotates slowly, his joints creaking in awkward protest. ‘Oh. Uh. No, it’s just—I’m—cups.’ He sighs. ‘Sorry. I appreciate your concern, but I’m not exactly eager to talk about it right now.’

Takeda smiles kindly. ‘Well, my door is always open.’ He turns back to his tray of appetizers and lets Suga wander away to set up the cups.

He finds the drink table deserted, the existing supply of cups nearly depleted. He hadn’t expected the girls’ team to be here. Damn it. He’d be lucky to get a _glimpse_ of Daichi for the rest of the night.

‘Excuse me,’ says an annoyed voice, and Suga glances up from his work to step aside automatically.

‘Oh, sorry, I was just—Aihara.’

‘Sugawara.’

It’s awkward. This is awkward.

‘I didn’t expect you girls here tonight,’ he attempts, and _holy shit_ , that was the wrong thing to say.

The vice-captain scrunches up her nose and glares at him. ‘Yeah, well, our team can’t have an amazing and supportive advisor, can it?’

Suga cocks his head. ‘I’m—I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I’m glad you’re here,’ he lies, and Aihara sees right through him.

‘No you’re not.’

Suga’s getting nowhere with her. Time for a gamble.

‘Yeah, you’ve got me there,’ he admits, letting out a bitter chuckle when her eyes narrow into a glare. ‘But that’s not your fault.’ He pulls a sleeve of cups out of the plastic wrapping and stacks them on the table next to the punch. ‘It’s. I’ve got to figure this out on my own.’

To his surprise, Aihara snorts. ‘It’s Yui, isn’t it?’ She swipes a cup from the stack and pours some punch into it. ‘Nobody fucked with this, did they?’ Suga shrugs, but she drinks from it anyway. ‘Ah, whatever. Hey, I know you like Daichi,’ she says casually, like that information isn’t going to _ruin_ him.

‘What—who—’

She laughs, a little more genuinely this time. ‘It’s no secret, Sugawara. I think Daichi’s the only one who _doesn’t_ know at this point.’ She pauses to consider. ‘Well, maybe not those two first-years.’

Suga can’t beat back the wry grin that sneaks onto his face. ‘They’re very gifted in many ways, but perception is not their strongest asset,’ he agrees, and the smile falls. ‘So, what? You’re going to snitch to Daichi? Or Michimiya? You certainly didn’t find me just to gab.’

Aihara rolls her eyes. ‘“Gab.” Adorable. I’m not so altruistic that I’d defend my friend’s chances with some idiot boy,’ she says, and Suga freezes, the pieces all falling into place at once.

‘Oh my god.’

‘Eh? What?’

‘You’re in love with Michimiya.’

‘Huh? Wh—what gave you that idea?’ Aihara laughs, but it’s too high, too frantic.

‘No, no, it all makes sense. You were perfectly content outside until Daichi came around. You’re pushing me toward him so it frees up Michimiya’s time.’ He laughs incredulously. ‘Holy shit, I thought _I_ was the only wreck here.’

Aihara takes a deep breath and reaches up to land her palms on Suga’s shoulders. ‘Okay,’ she says, her fingers tightening in his shirt. ‘Okay. Yes. You’re not entirely wrong. I... I like her. Maybe. A little bit. But I’m not breaking down the door to _marry_ her or anything. Wait.’ She narrows her eyes at him and leans in until he shifts back awkwardly. ‘I might have a little crush on Yui, but you’re _in love_ with Daichi, aren’t you? Like, for real.’ She releases him and barks out a laugh. ‘Jesus, Sugawara, you _are_ a wreck.’

Suga slumps. ‘Yeah. Heterosexuality is a real bitch.’

Aihara takes another sip of her drink and hums. ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Daichi’s _not_ straight.’

‘And you’re _that_ sure?’

She shrugs. ‘Even if I didn’t have ulterior motives, I’d be telling you to go for it, Sugawara. So. Fuckin’ _go for it_.’

Suga stacks another sleeve of cups. ‘I’ll think about it,’ he concedes, and Aihara pats him on the shoulder before ducking back through the door.

‘Tanaka, for the love of _god_ , that better be lemonade you just spilled in the snow,’ she snaps as she steps outside, and Suga laughs shakily, feeling even more confused about Daichi than ever.

He finds Asahi sitting on the floor against the wall in the dining room with Noya, and third-wheeling be damned, he lays down across from them, covers his face with his hands, and groans pathetically.

‘I’m going to die alone,’ he mumbles into his fingers. He feels Asahi’s foot nudge him reassuringly, and decidedly ignores it. ‘I’m moving to Italy. I’m adopting sixteen cats, and sure, they’ll smother me in my sleep and eat my corpse, but hey, that’s a problem for my landlord, not me.’

‘So, not going well with Daichi-san, then?’ Noya’s voice is lilting, nearly teasing, and Asahi shushes him. ‘What? Everybody knows.’

Suga groans again and rolls into Asahi’s lap. ‘ _Christ_ , does the concept of privacy mean _nothing_ to you people?’

Asahi’s hand lands in his hair and cards through it sympathetically. ‘If you’d just _talk_ to him, Suga—’

‘Shut up shutupshutup, I _know,_ ’ Suga interrupts with a growl. Asahi’s hand stills in his hair, and the setter’s annoyance shrivels up and dies a pathetic death. ‘Sorry, Asahi. That was out of line.’ He sits up and scrubs his face with the heel of his hands. ‘Am I a mess?’

Noya shrugs. ‘Kind of,’ he admits, and Suga whines, ready to curl back up in Asahi’s lap. ‘But so is everyone,’ Noya continues, ‘and that’s part of why we love you. Could you imagine how insufferably perfect you’d be without your weekly gay crisis?’

Suga yanks the libero forward and crushes him in a hug. ‘When did you get so wise, my _kouhai_?’

Noya laughs and shoves him off. ‘I’ve always been brimming with wisdom. You guys just never listen to me.’

Suga plants his hands on the floor behind him and leans back. ‘I listen plenty.’ He snickers. ‘For example, did you guys know Hinata’s mom has a minivan?’

Noya lets out another peal of laughter. ‘Dude, I _saw_ it earlier. It was like staring into the face of a god.’

‘God, tell me _everything_ ,’ Suga demands. ‘Literally nothing is more important than this.’

So the three of them sit there on the floor of their club advisor’s dining room, gossiping about their teammate’s mom’s minivan, and their other teammates’ obvious feelings for each other, all while Noya and Asahi inch close to each other. It’s subtle, a bounce from Noya here, a lean from Asahi there, and after an hour of camaraderie, Suga can tell they want some time to themselves.

Suga, feeling considerably brighter, stands up and brushes himself off. ‘Thanks, you guys. I’m going to check on Tanaka, because I’m pretty sure he pissed in Takeda’s garden earlier.’ Asahi chokes. Noya cackles. ‘Enjoy your date,’ he adds, throwing a live grenade of a comment into the room and ducking around the corner before it explodes.

He pulls his scarf and jacket on and carries his boots to the back door, passing through the room of first-years to see Tsukishima’s eyes completely glazed over as he stares uncomprehendingly at the somehow-still-going card game in front of him. Yamaguchi is slumped under his arm against his side, equally dead-eyed.

‘This must be purgatory,’ Tsukishima mumbles. ‘There’s no other explanation.’

Yamaguchi drools on the blond’s shirt.

‘Hey,’ Suga says with a clap of his hands, startling them out of their stupor. ‘I’m going outside for some fresh air. Anyone want to come?’

Yamaguchi wipes his mouth and bolts out from under Tsukishima’s arm. ‘Give me ten seconds,’ he pleads, racing to grab his coat.

Even Always-Cold-Tsukishima stands up and follows him out, blinking the haze out of his eyes with relief. ‘Literally anything is better than this,’ he admits.

Suga grins at the two remaining first-years on the floor. ‘How about you two? I think this game’s a draw.’ Hinata and Kageyama glare daggers at each other and keep flipping cards at random. Suga shrugs. ‘Suit yourself, he teases, ‘but I think I heard rumours of marshmallow roasting going on outside.’

Hinata hesitates. ‘We—we could pause this, I guess.’

Kageyama nods and lays his card face down. ‘Don’t think this is a draw, though. We’re seeing this through to the end.’

‘Um, obviously,’ Hinata snaps, jumping to his feet. ‘Race you outside!’ They streak to the door and out of sight, barely pausing to pull on their coats and boots.

Suga catches Takeda’s gaze as he cuts through the kitchen and pulls his boots on by the back door, and the advisor smiles. ‘There really are marshmallows out there,’ he laughs. ‘I’m counting on you to make sure they don’t burn my garden down.’

Suga nods and slides the door open, stepping into crunchy snow. Daichi’s still indisposed with the girls’ team, but the sting isn’t quite as sharp as Suga expects it to be after his surprisingly candid talk with Noya and Asahi. He finds Tanaka trying to flirt with Kiyoko and hooks his fingers into the back of his jacket, dragging him away roughly. ‘Sorry, Shimizu. I’ve got to borrow this.’ Kiyoko giggles behind her hand and waves him off.

Suga hooks his arm around Tanaka’s neck and leans in. ‘Tanaka. Kouhai. Ryuunosuke. _Ryuu-chan_.’

Tanaka pushes him off. ‘Yeah. What’s up, Suga-san?’

Suga narrows his eyes and pokes his index finger into Tanaka’s forehead. ‘Tell me you didn’t piss in Takeda’s flowerbeds.’

Tanaka shifts his weight awkwardly. ‘I didn’t piss in—’

Suga cuffs him on the back of the head and grips his sleeve. ‘You’re an idiot. Make sure Daichi doesn’t notice or you’ll be stuck in the gym before dawn tomorrow. Got it?’

Tanaka nods, and Suga releases his hold on his jacket, letting him scurry back to the fire. Suga sighs and drags a gloved hand down his face. Responsibility is a real pain in the ass.

‘Rough night?’

Suga smiles into his palm before letting his hand drop. Warmth floods through his chest at Daichi’s lopsided grin.

‘Eh, not so bad anymore,’ he says. ‘But I think I’ll let you take over this _accountability_ nonsense again. Kageyama and Hinata played a single game of cards for _two hours_.’

‘Yeah, that sounds like them. Anything else? Tell me I don’t have to drag anyone to the gym tomorrow.’

Suga shakes his head and _lies._ ‘Surprisingly, no. Tanaka’s too busy trying to woo Shimizu, and Noya’s harmless when they’re separated. He’s preoccupied making googly-eyes at our resident horse, anyway.’

Daichi’s eyebrows shoot up. ‘Oh yeah? How’s Asahi taking that?’

Suga’s smile softens into genuine affection. ‘He’s less anxious when he’s with Noya. It’s sweet.’

Daichi glances back at the fire and chokes. ‘ _Speaking_ of sweet, Tsukishima just zipped Yamaguchi into his giant coat.’ Suga’s head whips back just in time for Yamaguchi to lean back into Tsukishima’s body heat with a blush and a smile.

‘I fucking _knew_ it,’ he says with a squeak. He hammers his fist into Daichi’s arm. ‘Oh my _god_ , Daichi, look, _look—_ Tsukishima’s blushing. I must have done something right in my last life.’

Together, they watch Tsukishima rest his chin on the crown of Yamaguchi’s head, and all at once, it’s too much for Suga. He lets his legs go limp and falls back into a snowbank.

‘Just leave me, Daichi. It’s too late for me. Come dig me out when it’s time for their wedding.’

The snow next to him crunches, and he glances to the side to see Daichi lowering himself onto the ground next to him. The captain stiffens as some ice slips across the skin of his wrist where the sleeve of his jacket meets his glove, but he lays down anyway, his shoulder brushing Suga’s.

‘My jeans are going to soak through,’ he complains.

‘You’re the one who dove into the snow.’

‘Only because you basically _fainted_ , Suga.’

Suga laughs and shoves him weakly. ‘I told you to leave me to my fate.’ He turns his head toward Daichi and blinks when he finds him already staring. ‘You’re—’ His voice sticks, and he clears his throat. ‘You’re so sentimental.’

Daichi smiles faintly and it’s so fond Suga nearly goes into cardiac arrest. ‘Suga, I literally watched you cry watching a video of baby sea-turtles last week.’ He reaches over and digs his knuckles into Suga’s scalp. ‘Calling _me_ sentimental, honestly.’

‘It was a documentary, you _ass_ ,’ Suga cries, and latches onto Daichi’s wrist, trying to drag it away from his hair. The only problem is Daichi’s a lot heavier than him, and he only succeeds in dragging himself closer. ‘And a ton of them _died!_ Only one sea turtle in a thousand makes it to adulthood, you know!’ He grabs a handful of snow and shoves it down the back of Daichi’s coat.

Daichi _howls_ and claws at his back as Suga falls back and wheezes. Daichi lurches to his feet and rips his coat off to shake the rapidly melting ice out of his sweater.

‘You’re _dead_ , Sugawara,’ he growls and tackles Suga deeper into his snowbank. Suga’s only given a half-second to try and escape before Daichi yanks him up and dumps an armful of snow into his hair. Suga screams and pushes him back, but _again,_ Daichi’s a lot stronger than him, and he wraps his arms around the setter to pin him against his chest.

The snow in Suga’s hair has started to melt, and he stiffens as the icy rivulets drip down his neck and into the collar of his shirt. He swipes his hair against Daichi’s throat in a last-ditch effort to free himself, cackling when the arms around him flinch back in shock. He scrambles back to gain some leverage, then launches himself at Daichi, sending them both rolling in the snow. Daichi lands on top of him _again_ and smirks.

‘I think you might be outmatched, Suga.’

 _Fuck_ , Suga wants to kiss him.

‘Still worried about your jeans, Sawamura?’ he says instead, because any other response he can think of will shatter his restraint and make him yank Daichi down by the front of his sweater.

Daichi laughs loudly and drops a load of snow on his face. ‘It’s okay. You’re _much_ worse off than I am.’

Suga splutters and wipes at his face with his ruined gloves. ‘I knew the risks,’ he says with a grin. ‘I’ll accept going down if it means taking you with me.’

He brushes the last of the melted snow out of his face and opens his eyes to find Daichi staring at him again, his expression unreadable. ‘Suga,’ he breathes, and Suga stills under him, trembling with anticipation. ‘I think—’

A snowball smashes into the back of his head and Suga nearly screams. They both turn and glare at whoever threw it, finding Noya and Tanaka frozen in horror. They point at each other simultaneously, and Suga’s frustration dissolves with a laugh. Even Daichi has to fight to keep the scowl on his face.

‘Oh! Uh. Hey, Daichi,’ Tanaka says nervously. ‘Sorry, I think I hear Take-chan calling for me, so. Anyway, gotta go, bye!’ He almost makes it to the back steps before Daichi scrambles up and catches him around the knees, sending him sprawling. The group around the fire pauses and there’s one tense moment where everyone’s sizing each other up before they all go running for cover. Hinata dives behind some empty lattice with Ennoshita, Noya ducks behind a terrified Asahi, and Tsukishima just pulls his hood up and covers Yamaguchi’s face protectively.

‘ _If you’re hit, you’re out!_ ’ Noya yells. ‘ _Faces and balls are off-limits!_ ’

Suga watches fondly as Daichi pulls Tanaka’s beanie off, fills it with snow, and jams it back on his head. The second-year kicks out and manages to dislodge the captain. He crawls away to huddle behind the porch with Kageyama, who’s picking people off with careful, calculated throws. One of them smacks into the centre of Aihara’s back, and she cries out as she loses her footing and slips into Michimiya, taking them both down.

Suga’s pushing himself to his feet and creeping over to Asahi to hide behind him with Noya when the libero turns on him, clambering onto the ace’s back and locking his arms around his neck before lurching to the side, throwing him off-balance and toppling them both over.

He doubles back, scurrying over to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. He reaches up and raps on the blond’s head. ‘Tsukishima! Open up,’ he pleads. ‘I’m dying out here.’

Tsukishima smirks and shakes his head. ‘Absolutely not. You’re soaking wet. Besides, we’re at capacity in here, as you can _surely_ tell.’

Yamaguchi giggles and pops his head out of Tsukishima’s arms. ‘Sorry, Suga-san,’ he apologizes. ‘There’s a garden hose reel in the back corner that you can hide behind.’

Suga grumbles. ‘Unbelievable. After all I’ve done for you, too.’ He sniffs and turns away. ‘Good luck with your English homework, Yamaguchi, because you just lost your tutor.’ Suga darts across the lawn and drops to his knees, skidding behind the hose reel just as snow explodes against the fence above his head. He drags armfuls of snow toward his shelter and frantically shapes it into lopsided spheres.

He spots an orange blur charging up to him and he whips a ball at it in a panic, barely catching it in the arm.

‘Aw _man_ ,’ Hinata whines as he screeches to a halt just before colliding with Suga. He drops the arsenal of balls at the setter’s feet and trudges over to the porch, where several people who’ve already been knocked out are gathering. Tanaka, Noya, and Asahi all pat him on the back sympathetically.

A snowball detonates on the front of the reel and Suga yelps, ducking back down and glaring at Ennoshita. He grabs a fresh ball and cocks his arm back to pelt him, but Kageyama beats him to it.

The yard pauses as everyone tries to figure out who’s still in play. Daichi’s crouching behind the trash bins, wielding a lid as a shield. Kageyama’s still tucked behind the porch, but he’s running low on available snow. Kinoshita and Narita—nope, they just turned on each other.

Suga’s eyeing the distance to the more secure shed from his tiny hose reel, waiting for his chance to pounce. His bangs are plastered to his forehead and he pushes them back, catching Kageyama watching him like a hawk. He cocks his head toward Daichi, and quirks an eyebrow. Kageyama nods, and Suga holds up three fingers, counting down.

They reach zero, and Suga grabs a ball, leaps over the reel, and runs toward Daichi as Kageyama does the same.

Kageyama throws, Suga throws, and there’s an explosion of snow against the lid of the garbage can and...

Kageyama’s chest.

The setters stare at each other for a heartbeat before Kageyama points at him accusingly.

‘You _betrayed_ me,’ he protests, and Suga laughs.

‘Sorry, Kageyama, I have a score to— _jesus_ —’ He barely has a chance to glance up at the sound of a garbage can lid hitting the ground before Daichi’s barrelling into him and he’s on his back again.

‘Any last words?’ Daichi asks with a dazzling grin, dangling a snowball over Suga’s chest. Suga swallows.

 _I love you_ , he doesn’t say.

‘I will be avenged,’ he says instead, watching as Tsukishima unzips his jacket and releases Yamaguchi, who bends down just outside Daichi’s field of vision and scoops up a handful of snow.

Daichi drops the ball on Suga’s sternum and Yamaguchi pounces, compacting the snow he’s holding into a sphere and chucking it at Daichi’s chest in one fluid movement. It shatters on his shoulder and the yard falls silent.

Tsukishima lets out a sarcastic cheer.

Daichi’s frozen in disbelief on top of Suga, and Yamaguchi rubs the back of his neck. ‘Technically, I never got hit, so—’

‘Holy _shit_ , Tadashi!’ Noya yells, and the porch erupts into cheers, the entirety of both teams spilling down the stairs and dog-piling the nervous first-year.

Daichi’s still staring at Yamaguchi—or the spot where Yamaguchi once occupied—and Suga props himself up on an elbow, touching Daichi’s forearm with his free hand. Their eyes meet, chocolate mixing with caramel.

‘That was fucking _diabolical_ ,’ Daichi mutters under his breath, and Suga laughs.

‘Everyone always underestimates Yamaguchi because it’s hard not to compare him to Tsukishima,’ Suga admits, ‘but he’s just as calculating.’ He pushes himself further upright and Daichi shuffles back to give him space. His shoulder zings and he winces, his supporting arm giving out. ‘Ow, _fuck_.’

Daichi’s arms shoot out automatically to catch him before he falls back down. ‘Suga! Are you okay? Are you hurt?’

Suga rolls his eyes but feels his face redden. ‘Yeah, I’m okay. The thing is I’ve just been _tackled to the ground_ three times by my freight-train of a best friend, so.’ He reaches up and pats Daichi’s cheek when he casts his eyes down, clearly about to apologize. ‘I’ll be fine,’ Suga reassures him with a soft smile.

Daichi’s gaze flicks around Suga’s face, and Suga watches as it gets caught on his smile more than once, and _holy shit_ , he realizes, _Daichi’s not straight_.

The back door to the house slides open and everyone turns to find Ukai holding a basket of towels.

‘I was going to come out to roast marshmallows, but I think that’ll have to wait for next time,’ he says, hitching the laundry basket higher on his hip. ‘Anyone who isn’t soaked is allowed back in the house.’ He glances pointedly at Daichi and Suga, who are still half-buried in the snow. ‘You two are a lost cause,’ he adds with a laugh.

Daichi grimaces and releases Suga, pushing himself to his feet and offering a hand down to the setter. Suga grabs it and lets Daichi pull him up. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are already inside, along with most of the girls, who knocked each other out of the fight almost immediately. Ukai’s passing everyone else a fresh towel, and Suga nudges Daichi when Asahi smiles and ruffles Noya’s hair dry before the libero pulls him inside.

Daichi digs his lost coat out of the snow and takes Suga’s wrist, leading him back to the porch where they brush as much caked-on snow from their jeans as they can.

Ukai shakes his head. ‘You’re going to have to change, guys. Takeda sent Michimiya to get your stuff.’

Suga plucks a couple of towels out of the basket and hands one to Daichi. ‘If it makes any difference,’ he says, ‘Daichi started it.’

Daichi shoves him, and they both slip on the slick porch. ‘In what universe did _I_ start that?’ He bows as Takeda slides the door open with their bags. ‘We’ll stay behind and help clean everything up,’ he promises.

‘We will?’ Suga yelps, and Daichi elbows him. ‘I mean, _yes_ , we will!’

Takeda waves them off. ‘Oh, it’s really no trouble. It’s kind of nice to see the yard being used, honestly.’ He hands over their bags and steps aside. ‘Stick to the tile on your way in. There’s a bathroom upstairs where you can dry off. I’ll throw everything in the dryer and get it back to you on Monday.’

Suga and Daichi both bow and thank him profusely before toeing off their boots and finding their way upstairs. The bathroom is small, but it’ll serve.

Daichi flicks on the light and steps inside, slipping a little when his wet socks hit the tiles. A drop of melted snow rolls out of his hair and down his temple, and Suga has to take a deep breath before following him in and closing the door.

‘I think Takeda knew this would happen,’ Suga says with a laugh, towelling his hair dry and unbuttoning his shirt. ‘Maybe not _us_ specifically, but he knows how competitive the team is.’ He slips out of his undershirt and wrings it out in the sink before dropping it on the floor with a splat.

Daichi chuckles and digs around in his backpack, his towel draped around his neck while he searches for dry clothes. ‘He _did_ seem a little too understanding,’ he agrees, stepping into fresh jeans and hanging his old ones over the edge of the tub. The muscles in his broad back shift as he pulls his t-shirt over his head, and Suga has to look away before he does something stupid.

He steps out of his own jeans instead and chucks them on top of Daichi’s in the tub. His eyes flicker back at him and he startles when he finds Daichi already watching him.

‘Ah, sorry,’ Suga says with a nervous chuckle, pulling on his fresh jeans. ‘My aim isn’t very good.’

Daichi gives him an odd look. ‘You’re a _setter_ , Suga.’

‘An _excellent_ point, Daichi.’ He grins. ‘Your—um—hair is still dripping.’ Daichi blinks and before he can stop himself, Suga’s leaning forward and aggressively scrubbing the captain’s scalp dry. Daichi chuckles and ducks away, his hair a mostly dry—if slightly frizzy—mess.

‘Okay, okay, you got it, _thank you_ , Suga.’ Daichi glances in the mirror and grimaces. ‘Jesus.’ He flattens his hair as far as it’ll go. He turns to Suga. ‘Good?’

Suga smiles and shakes his head, reaching out to try and tame a piece still sticking up in the back. ‘There,’ he breathes, and his hand trails down the back of Daichi’s head, like a _traitor_. ‘Back to being a heart-breaker.’

Daichi swallows, and Suga’s eyes get stuck on the bob of his throat. ‘Suga.’

‘Daichi.’

‘R—remind me to never cross you in a free-for-all,’ Daichi stammers, and Suga smiles, caught somewhere between disappointment and relief.

He lets his hand drop and pulls an oversized sweater over his head (it’s Daichi’s, left at Suga’s house last year and never returned). ‘Okay, so it’s possible that got a little out of hand,’ he admits, ‘but in my defense, _you’re_ the one who took down Tanaka, so _really—_ ’

Daichi steps toward him swiftly and threads his fingers into Suga’s hair, tilting his head back and pressing their lips together firmly. Suga freezes for a half-second, a single heartbeat, just long enough for his brain to register that Daichi is _kissing_ him, but it’s long enough that Daichi pulls back, looking horrified. His hand slides out of Suga’s hair, and _no, no, no, put it back, come back, please._

‘Suga,’ Daichi gasps, ‘I’m—I should have—god, I’m _sorry_ , I should have asked, I just—’

The last of Suga’s crumbling restraint snaps and he shakes his head. ‘Shut up, nope, shut up,’ he interrupts and _pounces_ on Daichi, sliding his arms around his neck and slotting their lips back together. Daichi’s back hits the wall and he skims his hands up Suga’s sides, eliciting a shiver from the setter before he wraps them around his waist and drags him flush against his chest. Suga runs his tongue against the seam of Daichi’s lips and _relishes_ in the groan he gets in response.

 _He_ did that. _He_ made that noise come out of Daichi.

He pulls back only dive right back in when he meets Daichi’s heated gaze, his blunt nails scraping against Daichi’s scalp and definitely fucking his hair back up. ‘Daichi,’ he pants between kisses, ‘I’ve waited—’ _kiss_ ‘so long—’ _kiss_ ‘to do that.’

Daichi pushes off the wall and backs Suga into the blessedly sturdy vanity, lifting him up by the thighs and placing him on top without breaking their kiss, and it’s a good thing Suga’s perched now, because that _definitely_ would have buckled his knees. The angle is different now, Daichi craning his neck up instead of down, and _christ_ , that’s an image that Suga fully intends to capitalize on in the future.

Daichi steps between Suga’s knees and cups his face, his fingers curling along his jaw and under his ear. ‘I’m sorry I made you wait,’ he mumbles against Suga’s lips. ‘I was an idiot.’

Suga laughs softly—fondly. ‘You’re still an idiot,’ he teases, letting out a yelp when Daichi pinches his hip. ‘But I could’ve talked to you instead of pining helplessly for months on end.’ He smooths down Daichi’s hair gently and kisses him once more, softer and sweeter than the first and second times.

His hand falls to Daichi’s chest, and the sweater shifts with the movement, slipping off one shoulder. Daichi lets out a strangled noise and leans forward to press his lips to the newly-exposed skin.

‘Oh god _, Daichi,_ ’ Suga whines, his voice pitched high and ragged, surprising them both.

Daichi smirks, sharp and dangerous, and Suga files that away too. ‘ _That_ is good to know,’ he fucking _purrs_ , like Suga’s not already wrecked in their literature teacher’s bathroom.

‘Dai— _Daichi_ ,’ Suga tries again, ‘we have to stop now, or I won’t be able to.’

Daichi pulls away reluctantly and Suga meets his eyes. A spike rams through his gut when he sees how _blown_ his pupils are, the chocolate ringing them nearly overtaken.

‘You’re killing me here, Daichi,’ he whispers, and Daichi laughs shakily.

‘Come on, we should probably go downstairs,’ he says, backing off just enough to help Suga slip off the vanity.

Suga stumbles when his feet hit the floor, and Daichi steadies him against his chest, holding him there until his legs are strong enough to support him again. ‘My hero,’ he teases, watching the tips of Daichi’s ears turn pink.

God, he _adores_ him.

They move to the door, Suga dropping one last kiss on the corner of Daichi’s mouth before taking a deep breath and sliding it open.

Takeda is passing out mugs of hot chocolate as they descend into the kitchen, and the advisor doesn’t even bat an eyelash at them, just hands them their drinks with a smile and turns toward Yachi, who asks for a roll of paper towels, because one of the first-years (definitely Hinata) spilled his on the floor (still tile, thankfully). Suga wanders away, finally confident that Daichi will follow him, and finds the rest of the boys’ team in the living room.

They’re scattered on the couch, floor, and the folding chairs that Hinata brought. Noya and Tanaka are stretched out one side of the sofa, and Suga grins obnoxiously and shoos them away.

‘Off,’ he says, his hand landing on his hip. ‘Senpai coming through.’ Tanaka looks like he’s about to protest, and Suga fixes him with a _look._ ‘Beat it, kiddo,’ he says, unable to keep a straight face. ‘I’ve had a _day_.’ Noya nudges Tanaka and urges him up before he scoots to the other end of the couch and drops into Asahi’s lap, who immediately turns red.

‘Who knew our captains were so fragile, eh, Asahi-san?’ Noya quips.

Suga rolls his eyes and sinks into the centre cushion, pulling his feet up and under him. ‘As the only _adult_ in the room, I think I deserve a little more respect than this,’ he complains.

Daichi laughs and sits down next to him, stretching his arm along the back of the couch. ‘Milk that while you can, _Sugawara-sama_. Asahi and I both have birthdays in a couple of weeks.’

Suga elbows him sharply and turns to Ennoshita. ‘Kouhai!’ he barks. ‘Suggest a party game, quick!’

Ennoshita coughs and glances around awkwardly. ‘Uh. I don’t know. Truth or dare?’

‘Boo!’

‘Unoriginal!’

Ennoshita throws his hands up in defeat. ‘Fine, _jeez_. Yamaguchi, you won the snowball fight, you pick.’

Yamaguchi’s eyes widen in panic. ‘Um. King’s game?’

Tanaka shakes his head. ‘No way. I’ve sworn off the King’s game after Suga-san made me either say everything in reverse for the rest of the night or call Kiyoko and beg for a date.’ He shakes his head. ‘I lasted five minutes before fucking it up.’

Suga laughs and leans into Daichi a little more. ‘It’s one of my fondest memories. Shimizu didn’t speak to me for a month after that, but it was worth it.’

Noya shrugs beside him. ‘Are we defaulting to Never Have I Ever, then?’

There are no protests, which is apparently about as much as Noya needs. ‘Great! I’ll go first. Never have I ever...’ he glances at Kinoshita and grins. ‘Peed my pants in the middle of class.’

Kinoshita flushes, and takes a sip of his hot chocolate. ‘You’re a real dick, Noya. It was in first grade, and I regret telling you that.’

Suga can feel Daichi shaking with barely suppressed laughter, and he can’t keep the smile off his own face. ‘Your turn, Asahi,’ he prompts.

The ace tilts his head and contemplates. ‘Okay. Um. Never have I ever been arrested.’

Noya, Tanaka, and Kinoshita all drink, carefully avoiding eye-contact with Daichi, who’s scowling darkly at them.

‘Care to explain?’ he asks dangerously, and Tanaka laughs awkwardly.

‘We, uh, _may_ have... _brokenintoamallinSendailastyear_ ,’ he says in a rush.

‘But it’s not a big deal,’ Noya assures him quickly. ‘We just didn’t know it was closed, and the door was unlocked by accident.’

‘I mean, the lights were off,’ Kinoshita mutters, and the other two stare at him, the betrayal stark on their faces. ‘And when I said we should go, you guys said there was no harm in looking around.’

‘Hisashi, _why_?’ Noya howls, leaning back into Asahi’s chest pitifully. Tanaka leans forward in his chair, burying his face in his hands.

‘We’re dead. This is death.’

Daichi sucks on his teeth and takes a deep breath, his fingers digging into the vinyl of the couch behind Suga’s head.

‘Narc,’ Suga murmurs and grins up at him when the glare is redirected in his direction. ‘Was that the only time?’ he asks the three petrified boys, and they nod emphatically.

‘Yeah, we’re _definitely_ terrified of cops now,’ Tanaka admits, and Suga feels the muscle in Daichi’s arm relax.

‘Cool, problem solved, then,’ Suga chirps. ‘Yamaguchi, you’re up!’

Yamaguchi startles and runs his finger around the rim of his mug. ‘Oh. Never have I ever cheated on an exam.’

Suga lifts his cup and takes a sip, seeing Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Narita do the same. He feels Daichi’s disapproving look digging into his temple.

‘What? It was back in middle school, and I would have had to take supplemental classes during the summer.’ He smiles, his tongue between his teeth. ‘I did what I had to do in the name of summer vacation.’

Daichi rolls his eyes and digs the knuckles of the hand behind Suga into the setter’s scalp. ‘I’m starting to see where they’re getting all this delinquency from,’ he grumbles, but leaves his arm draped over Suga’s shoulders, to his delight. Noya glances between Daichi’s arm and Suga’s face several times, but mercifully stays quiet.

‘More importantly,’ Tsukishima drawls, ‘ _you two_ cheated on your exams and you _still_ failed?’

Hinata shrugs. ‘I got caught and got a zero,’ he admits shamelessly.

Kageyama nods beside him. ‘Same.’

Tsukishima laughs out loud, and Tanaka shoves him. ‘Hey, some of us are busy living _life_ ,’ he objects. ‘Not everyone’s _boring_.’

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow and adjusts his glasses. ‘Noted. Never have I ever kissed a girl,’ he drones, leaning forward and resting his chin on his pulled-up knees, staring at Tanaka, who can’t hold his gaze.

‘Damn it,’ he growls, decidedly _not_ drinking. ‘This is targeting.’

Beside Suga, Daichi takes an embarrassed sip. So do Hinata, Yamaguchi, and Kinoshita.

‘ _Hisashi_ ,’ Noya wails again, ‘you’re _killing_ me here!’

Suga smirks up at Daichi. ‘Oh yeah? Do tell, captain.’

Daichi blushes. ‘It’s nothing, it was just—’

‘It was Michimiya!’ Asahi blurts, and the entire room turns to stare at him. ‘Sorry, Daichi. I saw you guys behind the gym the day before the first training camp in Tokyo.’

It should hurt. Suga was still hung up on Daichi six months ago, so the knowledge that he was kissing someone else should sting. But Daichi’s arm tightens around him and he looks up into those chocolate eyes that he’s _sure_ have never looked at Michimiya with that much open affection, and he can’t help but grin.

‘I knew you were a heart-breaker, Sawamura.’

The entire couch relaxes, and Noya turns toward Yamaguchi.

‘What about you, Tadashi?’

‘I had a girlfriend in middle-school,’ Yamaguchi admits easily, ‘but we broke up when she picked a different high school.’

Hinata and Kinoshita nod.

‘Same here,’ Kinoshita says.

‘Me too,’ Hinata agrees.

‘Boo!’

‘Boring!’

Tanaka holds his hands out. ‘Hey, hey, settle down, it’s Tanaka’s time to shine,’ he boasts, and Suga hides a smirk behind his hand, already knowing where Tanaka’s mind has gone. ‘Never have I ever kissed someone of the same gender,’ he says dramatically, staring hard at Tsukishima.

The blond rolls his eyes and sips his drink without hesitation. ‘You’re an idiot,’ he deadpans as Yamaguchi, Noya, Asahi, Suga, and Daichi all drink, too. The blond tips Yamaguchi’s face up and pecks him on the lips, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. ‘Anyone here got a problem with that?’ Yamaguchi’s cheeks turn an impressive shade of red and he buries his face in his hands.

‘Most of us already knew,’ Daichi says kindly, and Tsukishima shrugs.

‘We figured. We weren’t exactly trying to hide it,’ he admits, squeezing Yamaguchi with an affection that Suga previously wouldn’t have been able to associate with him.

‘We’ve, um, been together for about six months,’ Yamaguchi says. ‘Please don’t be mad at us for not telling you, it’s just—’

‘It’s okay, Yamaguchi,’ Suga interrupts gently. ‘It’s nobody’s business but yours. If you wanted to keep it to yourself, we completely understand.’

Noya nods. ‘But also, if you ever want to talk about anything, a lot of us are—uh—kind of in the same boat.’

Suga laughs. ‘Yeah, this is the gay couch.’

Daichi smacks him in the back of the head. ‘We’re _not_ calling it that.’

Yamaguchi shoots them a watery smile and leans into Tsukishima, who presses a kiss into his hair. ‘This really means a lot to us,’ the blond says, his tone completely devoid of its usual snark.

Asahi nudges him with a stretched-out leg. ‘It can be nice to know there’s someone who’s going through the same thing you are,’ he agrees.

Yamaguchi sniffles and wipes at his eyes. ‘Okay— _jesus—_ that’s enough sentiment for me. Kinoshita, do your worst.’

Kinoshita hums and taps his chin. ‘Never have I ever been hit in the balls with a volleyball,’ he says with a laugh, and the entire room groans. Almost everyone drinks this time, Kinoshita and Kageyama the only ones abstaining.

Narita’s prompt was more specific. ‘Never have I ever knocked _myself_ unconscious with a volleyball,’ he says with a sly grin aimed at Ennoshita, who scoffs and shoves him before taking a sip.

‘That was _one_ time, and you were sworn to secrecy on that, Kazuhito.’ He smirks. ‘Never have I ever called a teacher “mom.”’

Narita scowls at him and drinks, along with Hinata, Yamaguchi, Suga, Daichi, and...

‘Tsukishima?!’ Suga falls into Daichi’s lap and howls.

'Shut up,’ Tsukishima snaps. ‘It was during exam week. I was running on five hours of sleep over the span of four days and was half-delirious. It was a miracle I didn’t flunk anything.’

'Also, that was this past July,’ Yamaguchi adds with a snort, letting the withering glare that Tsukishima throws down at him roll off his back without batting an eye.

‘We’re breaking up,’ Tsukishima grumbles, but lets Yamaguchi burrow into his side anyway.

Hinata bounces from his spot on the floor. ‘My turn! Never have I ever sprained my hand from a handshake.’

Daichi chokes. ‘You knew about that?’ he blurts, and everyone turns to gape at him. He takes a sip awkwardly. ‘I can explain,’ he says, the tips of his ears turning red when he catches Suga grinning at him. ‘It was after the Nekoma practice game. The first one, I mean—the one in Miyagi. That damn Kuroo was so smug about winning, and it’s possible I got a little defensive, and _apparently_ , when you feel a pop during a handshake, it’s because one of your fingers has just dislocated.’

‘Wait, wait.’ Ennoshita holds up a hand. ‘So when you came to school with your fingers taped together and told everyone it was from after-hours practice...’

Daichi grimaces. ‘Yeah. I had to write left-handed for a week.’ Suga dissolves again, and he shakes his head, turning toward the setter not currently attached to him. ‘Kageyama. Please change the subject.’

Kageyama blinks. ‘Oh. Never have I ever had a crush on a teammate.’

‘Whoooo boy,’ Suga mutters as more than half the room drinks. ‘That one’s devastating.’

Daichi chuckles beside him again. ‘Okay, my turn. Never have I ever cried because of a commercial.’

Suga stiffens and cuts a glare at him. ‘This is _absolutely_ targeting,’ he hisses before taking a sip. Yamaguchi, Hinata, Asahi, and Tanaka drink too.

Tanaka notices the confused looks angled in his direction and shrugs. ‘What? You’ve never seen those stupid Thai commercials before?’

Yamaguchi perks up. ‘Yes! That one with the sisters? Jesus _christ_.’

Hinata nods. ‘What are they even advertising?’

Daichi grins down at Suga. ‘Which one did _you_ cry over, Suga?’

The setter grits his teeth and glowers into his hot chocolate. ‘The dog one,’ he mutters, feeling his eyes prickle uncomfortably just _thinking_ about it.

‘Oh, I’ve seen that one,’ Asahi says. ‘That one gets me too.’

Noya shakes his head. ‘The car commercial? No way! That one’s so sweet!’

‘That’s the problem, jackass,’ Suga says with a sniffle, jabbing an elbow into the shorter boy’s ribs. ‘Daichi’s banned me from watching animal videos.’

‘Yeah, it was necessary.’ Daichi says seriously. ‘Did you guys know that only one in one-thousand sea-turtles makes it to adulthood?

‘ _Daichi_ ,’ Suga cries out, ‘ _why?’_

Daichi ruffles Suga’s hair and grins. ‘Your turn!’

‘You’re such an ass,’ Suga mumbles, wiping at his eyes. ‘Never have I ever gotten high from permanent markers.’

There’s a _long_ pause.

Everyone glances around suspiciously, sizing each other up until finally, Daichi growls and drinks the last of his hot chocolate.

‘ _What?!_ ’

‘Is that even _possible?_ ’

‘I thought I knew you, captain.’

‘Okay.’ Daichi sets his empty mug down on the end table next to the couch, and holds out his hand. ‘Okay, that sounds worse than it is.’

Tsukishima smirks. ‘What it _sounds like_ is our captain is a delinquent.’

Daichi glares at him. ‘Before my terrible sister became terrible, she managed to convince me that Sharpies smelled like cherry blossoms once they were on paper, but only while the ink was still wet.’ He grimaces. ‘She kept insisting it didn’t work because I was too slow and made me try again and again.’

Asahi coughs. ‘And when—exactly—did that happen, Daichi?’ he asks, knowing _precisely_ when that happened. Suga snickers behind his hand.

Daichi throws a murderous glance at Asahi over Suga’s head, but the ace just smiles sweetly. ‘Summer of first year,’ Daichi mumbles.

‘Oh, _Daichi-san_ ,’ Ennoshita groans, ‘that’s _too_ old.’

Suga smiles and reaches up to pat Daichi’s cheek fondly. ‘It’s okay, Daichi,’ he soothes, ‘at least you’re pretty.’ He laughs. ‘Also, you lost.’

Daichi leans over and looks in Suga’s mug. ‘You were pretty close yourself, there, Sugawara. If you hadn’t ratted me out at the end, Noya would have ended you in the next round.’

Suga grins and throws his arm around Noya’s neck, pulling him out of Asahi’s lap and into his own. ‘Yuu-chan would _never_ ,’ he says, scandalized.

Noya growls and thrashes in his arms like a wet cat before latching back onto Asahi and scrambling back onto him. ‘Well, _now_ I would,’ he snaps. ‘Never have I ever gotten an injury because of my own stupid pining.’

It’s a reference to the snowball fight, but Suga narrows his eyes at Asahi. ‘Cheers, Azumane,’ he lilts, downing the rest of his hot chocolate. Asahi whines, but follows suit, and Noya’s eyes light up. Yamaguchi giggles before the libero can grill him about it.

‘I’m out too,’ he says with a blush. ‘Tsukki pulled his shirt up to wipe his face a few months ago and Kageyama hit me in the face with a serve.’

‘Sorry again,’ Kageyama mumbles, and Daichi lets his hand fall onto the setter’s head, ruffling his hair comfortingly.

They play a few more rounds, the prompts growing more and more specific ( _never have I ever yarfed in someone’s lap_ ), but soon Yamaguchi falls asleep on Tsukishima, and Suga’s leaning heavily into Daichi’s side himself, so they decide to call it a night.

They all thank Takeda for organizing everything and begin trickling out. Tsukishima helps an exhausted Yamaguchi into his coat and slips a hat onto his head, offering a lazy wave before they disappear. Narita and Kinoshita live near some of the members of the girls’ team and offer to walk them home. Hinata’s mom has to come pick some of the underclassmen up, so Hinata, Kageyama, and Ennoshita perch on the front steps to wait.

Ukai catches Daichi by the back door and drags him and Tanaka outside to put the yard back together, and Takeda smiles and ducks upstairs to start on laundry, leaving Suga, Asahi, and Noya alone to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen.

Suga fills the sink and dumps a load of soap into the water. He picks up a baking sheet and does his best to scrape the hardened cheese off of it.

‘Hey, so what happened between you and Daichi-san?’ Noya says casually, like he’s just asking for the time.

Suga drops the pan back into the sink and whips his head to stare at Noya with wide eyes. ‘Nothing,’ he lies.

Asahi chuckles. ‘Yeah, _that’s_ convincing.’ Suga dips his hand in the water and flicks it off his fingers at the ace.

Noya cocks his head. ‘ _Something_ must have happened,’ he insists. ‘He was all over you on the couch earlier. More than usual, I mean.’

‘I—we—’ Suga gives up. ‘We kissed in the bathroom. Like, a lot.’ He picks up the pan and attacks the cheese again, a little softer after its swim.

Noya grins and punches him on the arm. ‘That’s great, Suga-san!’

Suga smiles faintly and rubs his arm. ‘Yeah.’ He gets the last of the cheese off the pan and rinses it before handing it to Asahi for him to dry.

‘You don’t seem as enthusiastic as I thought you’d be,’ Asahi notes.

Suga shrugs and lathers up a bowl they’d been using for chips. ‘I’m just being obsessive and weird,’ he mumbles. ‘It’s nothing.’

‘Suga-san, were you lying to Tadashi earlier?’ Noya asks. ‘Because I wasn’t. You can talk to us if something is bothering you.’

Asahi nods. ‘Even if you think it’s not a big deal.’

Suga sighs and rinses the bowl before passing it to Asahi and drying his hands on a tea towel. ‘Yeah, but if I say this out loud, I’m going to be a terrible person.’ His eyes prickle, and he twists the towel in his hands.

Noya lays his hand on Suga’s shoulder and looks up at him with uncharacteristically kind eyes. ‘Suga-san, it’s okay to have doubts and insecurities. Everyone has them.’ He gnaws at his lip. ‘I—I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it work with Asahi-san because of his anxiety,’ he admits, looking ashamed. ‘There. Nothing you’re thinking can be worse than that.’ Asahi sets the bowl down and pulls the libero to his chest, running a hand through his hair soothingly.

Suga sniffles. ‘I don’t want to be the only one with feelings,’ he finally blurts out. ‘I don’t want to do this if I’m just some milestone, some check-mark, some _notch_ in Daichi’s belt, so he can look back in twenty years and say he had a “ _gay phase_.”’ He leans back against the counter and slides down to sit on the floor in misery, drawing his knees up to his chest and burying his face in his hands.

‘Suga...’ Asahi sits down next to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders. ‘You need to _talk_ to Daichi. You can’t just kiss him and think everything is going to be perfect and easy. This isn’t just being obsessive and weird. These are real concerns.’

Noya flops down on Suga’s other side and nudges him. ‘You want to know how Asahi-san and I got through it? I swallowed my pride and told him I was worried about not being able to support him properly through a panic attack, or figure out when he’s overwhelmed in social situations.’ He peels Suga’s hands off his face and smiles at him. ‘And it’s still hard sometimes, knowing when he needs a push or when he needs softer support. I still fuck up. But.’ He glances up and his smile softens even more as he catches Asahi’s eye. ‘He’s worth it.’

Suga watches the easy affection that passes between his friends and. ‘Wait,’ he says with a wet laugh. ‘Have you guys been together this whole time?’

Noya laughs. ‘Yeah. Sorry.’

‘Unbelievable. I’ve been trying to push you guys together all year, and you’re already dating.’

Asahi smiles. ‘If it’s any consolation, the alone-time was very much appreciated.’

‘Gross.’

* * *

It’s nearly eleven-thirty by the time they finally get the house back in respectable shape. Takeda thanks them for staying behind to help and sends them on their way before taking a long pull from his wine glass, his first drink of the night. Tanaka salutes and wanders down the street into the night.

Asahi hesitates at the gate. ‘I’m—I’m going to walk Yuu home. I’ll text you when I get in.’

Suga smiles and waves him off. ‘Go. We’ll be fine,’ he says, hoping he’s not lying. Truthfully, he’s still nervous about talking to Daichi, even after dozens of reassurances from Noya and Asahi.

The ace waves and jogs back to Noya, both of them disappearing around the corner, and Daichi narrows his eyes. ‘They’re dating, aren’t they?’

Suga smiles. ‘Daichi.’

‘Suga.’

‘Stay at my place tonight,’ he says before he can change his mind.

Daichi’s ears burn red. ‘Oh. Yeah. Yeah, of course, I—are you sure?’

Suga reaches across the chasm of space between them and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together. He nods. ‘Yeah. I am.’

He leads Daichi back to his house, and it’s a much less circuitous route than the way he’d come, now that they don’t have to drop off Asahi. Suga clings to Daichi’s hand like a lifeline as his often-empty house looms into view.

‘My parents are out of town this weekend, but Aki’s home. He’s probably holed up in his room, though,’ Suga says as he unlocks the door and they slip inside.

Sure enough, his brother is nowhere in sight. There’s a half-eaten bag of chips on the counter, the only evidence of another living soul. The carpets are still perfectly vacuumed—patterned with rows of straight, even triangles. Suga kind of hates it here sometimes.

He kicks off his boots and leaves them intentionally askew before towing Daichi upstairs to his room. There’s a thin strip of blue light spreading out from under Aki’s door, meaning he’s got something blasting through his headphones.

Suga lets Daichi into his room and flips the light on before closing the door behind them. He takes a deep breath. Daichi cocks his head at the sound of the ragged exhale and runs his hands up Suga’s arms, gripping his shoulders gently.

‘You okay?’ he asks, and there’s so much raw affection in his voice that Suga can’t help but nod.

He glides the back of his fingers over Daichi’s jaw reverently. ‘Of course,’ he breathes, because how could he not be okay with Daichi here, looking at him like he’s the sun?

He leans forward and brushes his lips against Daichi’s, and the captain’s resolve shatters. He threads his hands into Suga’s hair and adjusts their angle before kissing him properly. He drags his tongue along the seam of Suga’s lips, and Suga lets him in without hesitation, because it’s _Daichi_.

Daichi licks into his mouth, and Suga’s fingers scrabble for purchase on his sweater-covered back as they both groan. Suga pulls himself flush against Daichi’s chest, and one of those broad hands untangles from his hair to snake around his waist. He walks Daichi back until his calves hit the end of his bed and he falls, pulling Suga down with him.

Suga settles over his lap and Daichi sits up so they’re nearly face-to-face. Suga’s sweater has shifted again, and Daichi latches onto the exposed shoulder, kissing his way up the column of Suga’s throat. He slips one of his hands under the hem of the sweater and palms at the flushed skin of Suga’s back, the touch consuming and searing.

Suga whines and tips his head back, letting Daichi kiss him, take him, take _whatever he wants, just keep-’_

He freezes.

‘Daichi,’ he whimpers. Daichi hums against his throat.

‘ _Daichi_ ,’ he tries again, ‘wait, I’m—hang on, I can’t—we need to—’

He can’t string the right words together.

‘Daichi, _stop!’_ His voice rattles in his own skull, shrill and afraid, and Daichi lurches back, his eyes wide and terrified.

‘Suga, I’m—I’m so sorry,’ he whispers, his beautiful chocolate eyes glassing over.

‘ _No_ , Daichi, that’s not—I just. I can’t _think_ when you’re doing that, and—and I promised Asahi—’

‘Asahi?’

‘Yeah, I promised I would talk to you, but I’m not good at talking—not for real, and then you started _kissing_ me, and I forgot why I was scared—’

‘You’re scared?’ Daichi looks like he’s about to burst into tears. ‘Are you scared of _me?’_

Suga shakes his head quickly. ‘ _No!_ I don’t know.’ He swings off of Daichi’s lap and props himself up against the wall, pulling his knees to his chest protectively. ‘Not _of_ you. I could never be afraid of you,’ he says with a brittle smile.

Daichi crosses his legs under him like he does in the gym. ‘Talk to me, Koushi. Please.’

The sound of his given name rolling off of Daichi’s tongue is overwhelming. ‘I can’t do this if I’m the only one with real feelings,’ he blurts out. Daichi’s eyes widen in surprise, but Suga barrels through. ‘If I’m the only one who means it when I say _“I love you,”_ then you need to find someone else to be the token _“one guy you sleep with.”_ I’m not interested in being the one you try it with _“just to see what it’s like.”_ ’ He buries his face in his knees and staunchly ignores the steady drip of tears on his jeans.

The bed dips as Daichi rearranges himself to rest against the wall next to him, and he wraps his arms around Suga tightly. ‘I would _never_ do that to you, Koushi. I _could_ never.’ He lets out a mirthless laugh. ‘I kissed Michimiya over the summer because I was trying to get over _you_.’

Suga leans into him and sniffles. ‘Did it work?’

Daichi chuckles. ‘Obviously not,’ he teases. ‘I’m in _love_ with you, Koushi.’

Suga lifts his head from his knees and wipes his face with his sleeve. ‘You’d better mean that,’ he threatens weakly.

Daichi squeezes him and kisses his temple. ‘I’ll _always_ mean it. I love you.’

Suga sniffles again, but manages a smile. ‘We haven’t even gone on one date yet.’

Daichi shakes his head. ‘I don’t care. I love you. I’ll take you wherever you want. Whenever you want. I _love_ you.’

‘I don’t—’ Suga hesitates. ‘I don’t really know how to be a boyfriend,’ he admits, and Daichi pulls him into his lap.

‘Me neither.’

‘Maybe we can ask Noya and Asahi.’

‘Or Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.’

‘I’d honestly rather kill myself than ask Tsukishima for dating advice.’

‘I love you, Koushi.’

‘I love you, Daichi.’

* * *

The next morning arrives without fanfare, unless fifty-seven unread messages in the volleyball club group chat counts as fanfare.

Suga reaches up an arm and rubs the sleep out of his eyes, blinking heavily. Daichi’s arms are wrapped around him protectively, his face buried in Suga’s neck. The setter smiles fondly and cards a hand through his short hair, reaching for his phone with his free hand.

_Tangerine (7:15 am): anyone up for practice today? kageyama and i still don’t have a key._

_Tangerine (7:25 am): guys?_

_Tangerine (7:29 am): hellooooooo_

Suga scrolls through several similar messages and bites back a laugh.

_Yams (8:04 am): Omg hinata, stopppp_

_Tanakabaka (8:06 am): for fucks sake go back to bed_

_Tsukisaurus (8:07 am): You’re all hurtling toward an untimely death._

_Tangerine (8:10 am): i just saw suga-san come online!_

_Tangerine (8:10 am): suga-san! come practice with us!_

Suga bites his lip and taps out a reply.

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:11 am): sorry hinata. daichi and i have captain stuff to do today_

_Rolling Thundaaaaaa (8:11 am): thats such bullshit_

_Sugaaaaaaaa (8:12 am): you know asahi has a key too_

_Jesus (8:13 am): NO_

_Jesus (8:13 am): i mean_

_Jesus (8:13 am): i gave it back to takeda after the qualifiers_

Suga chuckles before he can hold it back. Daichi stirs against him, his eyes bleary and unfocused, and Suga can’t _believe_ he’s allowed to just _touch_ him now. He skims his hand down his arm, then back up, just because he can.

‘Hey, Daichi.’

Hey, Suga.’

Suga grins and shakes his head. ‘What happened to _Koushi?_ ’

His boyfriend ( _his boyfriend!_ ) grins and burrows into his neck. ‘My bad. Koushi. Kou. _Kou-chan_.’

Suga gags and pushes him away. ‘Oh my god. Do _not_ call me _Kou-chan_. Your baby sister calls me that.’

Daichi laughs and rolls on top of him. ‘No no, it’s cute! “Kou-chan, you made chocolates for me? How sweet!”’

Suga wails in despair. ‘I thought you _loved_ me, Daichi,’ he pleads. ‘Maybe I’ll start calling your mom _Okaasan_ and become the responsible son she never had.’

Daichi snorts and kisses his nose. ‘Okay, in order: I _do_ love you, you _already_ call my mom _Okaasan,_ and the day _you_ out-responsible _me_ is the day I drag you down to hell with me.’

Suga scoffs but reaches up and brushes Daichi’s hair back anyway. ‘I’m plenty responsible,’ he says. ‘Literally yesterday I chewed out Tanaka for pissing in Takeda’s flower... bed.’ He trails off in horror as he realizes what he’s just said.

Daichi dives for his phone, knocking it off the nightstand and onto the floor with a clatter. Suga’s _just_ too slow to grab him, his fingertips barely brushing the hem of his t-shirt. The captain scoops up his phone and taps out a message to the group chat.

_Dad-chi (8:24 am): Tanaka, I just heard the most INTERESTING tidbit about you!_

_Tanakabaka left the chat._

_Tsukisaurus (8:25 am): lol rip_

* * *

It goes like this: Noya and Asahi were right the entire time.

It takes some time for Suga and Daichi to adjust to their new dynamic. They decide not to tell the team for a few weeks, at least until they get back from Nationals.

Hinata catches them in the club room after their next practice two days later.

The team is supportive, which is a relief. There are already two other couples in the mix, so it’s not too dramatic of a shift. Daichi slips up once and calls him Koushi during practice, much to the rest of the team's delight, and for the rest of the week, they're all calling him Koushi, too.

The first time they’re ready to have sex, it’s full of awkward pauses, and breathless laughs and it lasts three minutes. It’s terrible, objectively speaking, but to Suga, it’s perfect.

It goes like this: they’re going to different universities. Suga’s accepted into Todai somehow, and Daichi’s staying in Sendai. Suga nearly turns the offer down, but Daichi makes him promise to accept, letting him cry into his shoulder when he helps him pack for the move, and whispering reassurances to him when he admits he’s terrified of what long-distance will do to them.

The distance is hard on both of them. They Skype almost every night, and every time, one of them ends up crying. Suga’s roommate is Kuroo, and Daichi nearly has a heart-attack when he finally manages to come visit and finds his dark-haired rival lounging in Suga’s dorm.

It goes like this: when Suga comes back to Miyagi for summer vacation, Daichi meets him at the train station and they cling to each other and cry for ten full minutes.

They still argue, and fight, and get on each other’s nerves, but the sting fades quickly, and they apologize and move on, because they’re both putting in the work, because in the end, it turns out that Noya was right all along.

He’s worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone's counting, the final scores of Never Have I Ever were:
> 
> Noya 4  
> Asahi 4 + 1  
> Yamaguchi 6 + 1  
> Tsukishima 4  
> Tanaka 4  
> Kinoshita 3  
> Narita 3  
> Ennoshita 3  
> Hinata 6  
> Kageyama 1  
> Daichi 7  
> Suga 6 + 1


End file.
